Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $69.89 and last traded at $69.83, with a volume of 297070 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NGVT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ingevity from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ingevity from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ingevity in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ingevity to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ingevity from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Ingevity Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.39, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.37 and a beta of 1.34.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.38. Ingevity had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a positive return on equity of 103.69%. The company had revenue of $333.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ingevity Corporation will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ingevity

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NGVT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ingevity by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 652,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,599,000 after purchasing an additional 475,907 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingevity by 311.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 600,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,769,000 after purchasing an additional 454,579 shares during the period. Simcoe Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ingevity by 188.8% during the second quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC now owns 624,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,928,000 after buying an additional 408,508 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Ingevity during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,171,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ingevity by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,566,000 after purchasing an additional 230,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation, traded as NGVT, is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina. The company operates two primary business units: Performance Chemicals and Performance Materials. The Performance Chemicals segment produces and markets specialty chemicals derived largely from wood and other natural feedstocks, including rosin acids, tall oil fatty acids and esters, as well as specialty petroleum resins. These products serve a broad range of industries, including paper, adhesives, coatings, oilfield drilling and consumer goods.

The Performance Materials segment develops and manufactures activated carbon products and composites for applications such as automotive emissions control, industrial air and water purification, and spill containment.